Joshua Handverger was dismissed in 2008 after nearly a year as city manager of Winooski. He sued the city, arguing his dismissal was improper.

Handverger says the dismissal hearing scheduled by the City Council fell on the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah. Handverger said that interfered with his right to practice his religion with his family in Massachusetts.

The city had offered a later hearing date, but that would have put Handverger past the end of his one-year probationary period. The city has repeatedly denied any discrimination.

A Justice Department civil rights investigation has concluded that the Ferguson Police Department and the city's municipal court engaged in a "pattern and practice" of discrimination against African Americans.